1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in temperature conditioners for warming and cooling vehicle seats.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in a hot summer season or high-temperature regions, a comfortable drive is hardly achieved due to perspiration on sitter's body portions contacting the seating section (hereinafter, this term will be used to distinguish from an entire seat structure) and backrest of an automotive vehicle seat. In a cold winter season or low-temperature regions, a comfortable drive is also hard to achieve. Thus, automotive vehicles have been becoming increasingly popular which are provided with a temperature conditioning function to warm or cool their seats, as typically disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. HEI-5-277020. According to the disclosure, the vehicle seat includes a seating section (on which a sitter's weight rests), a backrest, a first duct disposed within the backrest, a second duct disposed within the seating section, and a Peltier element disposed in a space underneath the seating section and including first and second fins for warming or cooling air.
According to the disclosure in the HEI-5-277020 publication, the underside of the seating section defines the upper boundary of the space, so that the first fin of the Peltier element and other members defining the space must be configured in conformity of the shape of the underside of the seating section. Thus, dedicated component parts are required for fitting the first fin and other space-defining members to the underside of the seating section, resulting in an increase in the cost. Further, because pipes connecting the Peltier element and the first and second ducts are fastened directly to the underside of the seating section, the connecting pipes can not be easily detached and reattached such as when the Peltier element is to be replaced. Moreover, because the entire space underneath the sea ting section is occupied by the first and second fins, it is difficult to put goods in the space and a person sitting behind the seat (e.g., rear-seat passenger) can hardly stretch her or his legs into the space.